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Gone Fishing – Flash Fiction

Neeluk never did like living in the stupid swamp. The place was gloomy and the fishing was beyond terrible. He once caught a fish that had more eyes than it did scales. The nasty thing had been slimier than a skinned snake and tasted like decaying toenails! He about never got the flavor off of his crooked teeth. Beyond that, the swamp had a putrid smell that reminded him of his grandfather’s decaying carcass. I understand that you might wonder how he knew what the old deadbeat smelt like.

See, Neeluk had dug the old coot up a few days back when his brother, Mishmash, had told him there were pearls in the man’s pockets. Mishmash had said that their grandfather had gone to his deathbed with his debt payment stashed in his trousers. Those dues were apparently for the Tall Man at the trading post. Something about buying too many beetle legs. Anyway, Neeluk did not care much about the debt. He wanted those pearls so that he could pay to travel outside the swamp and find some better fishing spots.

I suppose it would be important to say that Mishmash was always making chatter and telling stories, causing quite the commotion for ole Neeluk. If the swamp weren’t for the worse already, Mishmash did not make it any better. Maybe I should have mentioned that sooner, but I cannot say that storytelling is something I regularly do. You will have to forgive me.

Regardless, Neeluk had spent half a day digging in the backyard beyond their rickety shack. He had been quite excited when he finally was able to surface the remains of the old geezer. However, the light in his eyes lessened as he soon realized that the corpse was not even wearing pants!

Mishmash had tittered and chortled for nearly an hour before Neeluk had finally had enough. To make a long story short, Mishmash hanging from a hook did not improve the fishing. I will say that Neeluk’s position on the swamp did not change much. It was still stupid, but at least, it was a bit more quiet.

Very nice, tight little piece you have here. That bit about Mishmash hanging from a hook not improving the fishing got a wry laugh out of me, the deadpan humor in this piece is just perfect. Well done!